Lentil Pests

In general, insects have not been a major problem in lentil production in Alberta. However, in the drier areas of the province, grasshopper and cutworm can sometimes be a problem.

Wireworm occasionally cause some problems, but only if lentil is seeded into a field that has had a forage grass crop included in the rotation. Other insects such as lygus and aphid are occasionally found in lentil but rarely at levels that justify the cost of using an insecticide.

Grasshopper

Damage

seedlings on the edge of the field can be attacked by grasshopper nymphs as they emerge in the spring, and damage can occur at both the seedling and flowering stage – if damage occurs at seedling stage, lentil will usually regrow from buds near or below the soil surface though maturity of these plants will be delayed

greater damage occurs if lentil is attacked in the flowering to early podding stages – in this case, yields can be reduced by as much as 90 per cent

seed contamination with grasshopper parts can result in reduced lentil quality since grasshopper heads are similar in size to lentil and are difficult to clean out

with early seeding, lentil will normally grow past the susceptible stage before grasshoppers emerge